Voting for our Board of Education representative is new to Baltimore County this year. Southwest area PTAs and PTSAs want to assure the public learns about the candidates--and then votes both in the primary and the general election. Regardless of party affiliation, all voters can chose from the five candidates at the June 26th primary.

​The School Board Candidate Forum was held on May 17th. Candidates Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Gresick, and Mr. Young participated. Candidate Lisa Mack was unable to join us due to a significant family commitment. The forum video may be viewed on our Facebook page.

Below, you will find answers to the questionnaire that was shared with all five candidates running to represent District 1. Questionnaires are shared in alphabetical order. Please note, we did not receive a response from Candidate Deborah Cason and do not have her answers to the questionnaire to share.

Fitzpatrick - Board of Education Candidate Questionnaire District 1 PTA Forum ​1) What is the most important educational goal you hope to accomplish in your term of office?

We absolutely have to establish an equitable system for allocation of resources within BCPS. In terms of both capital and operational needs, we have many challenges facing us, and, historically, we’ve not addressed these in an equitable manner. Education should not be based on advantage – it should produce advantages.

2) What areas of improvement do you see as most important for BCPS as a whole?

Transparent Decisions:As a system we need more openness and input in our practices and, more importantly to our changes in practice. Many of our decision-making processes are actually quite strong. It’s the easiest thing in the world to run “against” the system, but our system has more strengths than it does weaknesses. Where we fail, often, is involving the stakeholders in how those systems work.

We also seem to often find ourselves in these “do or die” situations. I make critical, in-the-moment, decisions in my job. They are usually good “for the moment”. When I have to make a considered decision, I give myself time to data collect, seek expert advice, gather input, make a plan, get input, and implement. Those decisions are the ones that work for more than just “the moment”, and they’re the kind of decisions we should be making more often in BCPS.

Teacher Empowerment:I work as a nurse. Any nurse will tell you that the best care always comes when the leadership listens to the people at the bedside, provides them with what they believe they need, and lets them do the job. Any nurse will also tell you that, the farther as decision maker is from the active care of the patient at hand, the worse the care becomes.

I’m not an educator by training, but I know that we have a lot of great ones right here in our system. We need to listen to them and they need to be free to speak. I’ve spoken with many of them, and they know what they need. Again, this was a lesson I learned in my work shifting from direct care to management. Even when I thought I knew what they needed (because I had done the same job somewhere else), I needed to hear from the providers on the sharp end to truly know. That is why I want a system that is classroom-focused and teacher-driven. It’s the best way to provide the best education.

Equitable Education:Again, we must find a way to reach out to and provide for everyone in this system regardless of the challenges. We have a flawed system of allocating resources – particularly capital investment. We seem to base decisions on who has the best advocacy group going at the moment. This is flawed.

I was involved in an advocacy project to try to relieve overcrowding in Catonsville’s elementary schools. I feel like we did good work, but we left a lot of people behind. How? Why? Because not everyone has the ability to advocate in the same way we were able to. How is a single mother working two jobs going to find time to get to a Board of Education meeting in Towson on a weekday? She’s not.

We need to find a better way that isn’t dependent on economic or social status, and is as free as possible from the political whims of day. Everything I have, I have because of the education I received in these schools. It didn’t matter than my parents never graduated high school or that my dad worked in a paper mill. BCPS provided me with the education I needed to succeed in life regardless of how my life started. That is the promise education should make, and I intend to keep it.

3) How will you stay in communication with stakeholders, including local school PTA’s?

There are many pathways for communication. [If you can’t find me then you’re probably not looking.] I have been active for a long time on social media, and I always answer questions when asked. That’s probably not enough. I intend to seek out stakeholders where they are. Sometimes people are so immersed in their problems they can’t take time to ask for help. So you have to go find them. As a board member, I see my role in communication as an active on, and will seek out input at every opportunity. I will visit schools, attend meetings. You can’t come to a meeting? I’ll come where you are.

I’d also like to see the Board of Education less hidden away in Towson. Board meetings should be held around our county on a more regular basis. They have a very nice set up where they are, but they should be where we are.

4) How will you work with the county council and county executive to secure adequate funds for our school system?

One of my college professors – an expert in emergency response systems planning once told me, “Money isn’t everything – it’s the only thing.” The board does need to take an active role in engaging the county’s political leadership on budget issues. BCPS’s budget is fully 52% of the county’s spending in a year. The county executive and the council should be asking the board to guide how that money would be best spent.I also think that the county needs to look at imposing impact fees on development, and most of those funds should go to the services that further development will need. This isn’t a board member’s role to advocate for, but it is in my role as a citizen.

5) How will you ensure equity for school facilities across district one?

All the schools in District 1 have unique needs. Some have more challenges than others. However, all of our students need to be met where they are. If that means we need more community services in Baltimore Highlands than in Catonsville, then that’s what that means.

We have an obligation to graduate students who are college or career ready. For our students to do that, they need to be in school and ready to learn. In some parts of our district, families are having trouble just putting food on the table. In those areas, the school will need to act as a hub for providing services that enable our students to be learning ready, so that we can make them ready for the world

6) In what ways will you balance the needs of all schools in the district?

I will be on the road a lot. All of our school communities deserve to have a voice and to have that voice heard. To meet the needs of all the schools in our district, I first have to know what those needs are by hearing it directly from the stakeholders. That’s going to mean a lot of visits to all of the schools.

7) How will you foster and encourage transparency in the school system? ​As I mentioned above, I would like to see all BCPS processes opened up to greater public scrutiny and greater explanation. I’d also like to see up take up contracts and policy changes with greater lead time to allow for greater public input.

Name: Matt Gresick

Previous elected offices held: None Previous Serious or Community activities: B.A in Secondary Education, M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction, and an Administration Certification.Over 16 years of teaching, including 15 years in Maryland Public Schools as well as experience in at-risk city schools, an English parochial school, and Title I schools where I was a Community Outreach Coordinator.In that time I have taught all Social Studies content area classes, including Government, World Religions, Leadership, and Sociology, as well as coached football, basketball, soccer, mock trial, and chess.I am currently a Professional Development School Liaison with Towson University, coordinating the placement of student teachers at my school and mentoring both the mentor and student teachers. I was the Mentor Teacher of the Year for Salisbury University, the Government Relations Chair for the Howard County Education Association, a Professional Development Leader, a curriculum writer, and a Justice Institute Fellow.I’ve mentored individuals with disabilities, been a homeless shelter supervisor, been involved with the PTA, coached Catonsville Recreation basketball, and been involved with the Westchester Citizens on Patrol.

1. What is the most important educational goal you hope to accomplish in your term of office?

As a parent and teacher, I will enable stakeholder empowerment in the school system, as we need input from teachers, parents, students, and other community stakeholders when developing curriculum, school schedules, discipline, and grading policies.

2. What areas of improvement do you see as most important for BCPS as a whole?

Re-establishing trust and transparency for policy initiatives should be highly emphasized, and, as the only active public school teacher in the race, I bring a unique perspective that the Board is seriously missing. Policies that are created at a governing body often manifest themselves quite differently when they reach the point of delivery with teachers, students, and parents. I will be able to offer that point of delivery perspective for both teachers and parents to ensure that decisions from the top can be understood and implemented to benefit all our students.

3. How will you stay in communication with stakeholders, including local school PTA’s?Social media is an incredibly helpful tool in engaging stakeholders, but I have learned from this campaign that we need more face to face interactions. Already as a candidate, I am busy meeting with community groups and PTAs as well as going out to the various communities all across District I, from Woodlawn to Lansdowne. I will routinely meet with all PTAs and community forums in district I and build personal connections with them over their concerns with the school system.

4. How will you work with the county council and county executive to secure adequate funds for our school system?

The board of education does not have power of the purse, so we are depending on the county governing body to supply funding. I have advocated before the General Assembly for education funding with other teachers across this state, and I will continue to do the same as your Board Member. I know that my personal testimony in relating those needs of our system will carry more weight as I am experiencing those needs first hand.

5. How will you ensure equity for school facilities across district one?

I think the best first step is to follow the facilities model that Anne Arundel has established that ensures that, tailoring it to our own unique needs. Baltimore County needs to provide more resources toward the maintenance and replacement of older structures. Zip code should not determine the quality of a child’s education nor should it determine whether or not their school is conducive of learning.

6. In what ways will you balance the needs of all schools in the district?

Equity is something we not only need to preach but practice as well. There are numerous schools in district 1 that are in desperate need of additional resources due to poverty and a lower socioeconomic population and unfortunately they do not have the political voice like other communities. That fact should be ever present when deciding allocation of resources.

7. How will you foster and encourage transparency in the school system? ​I plan on having two forums that I refer to as “Grade Gresick” where everyone’s input will be valued as you anonymously grade me and give me feedback for the time I have spent in office. I will read all of the grades and comments out loud then open up a dialogue to address those areas of concerns.

Name: Lisa A. Mack

Name: Richard M. Young

​Previous elected offices held: NonePrevious Serious or Community activities: None

1) What is the most important educational goal you hope to accomplish in your term of office?

A) The most important educational goal I hope to accomplish is to improve the working conditions for teachers in BCPS. Our teachers need pay raises. We need to retain our teachers in BCPS.

B) The multitude of problems that many of our teachers face every day need to be immediately addressed. The problems range from extremely over crowded classes, insufficient technical training on new software programs, and class rooms which are not heated nor air conditioned properly and safer schools are a priority.

C) Serious support measures are necessary for our teachers to address bullying, fighting and dangerous behavior in their classrooms. These support measures and CHANGES in BCPS Rules and Policies are desperately needed. Restorative Practices (RP) is not working properly. And it will continue to not work properly until BCPS implements all the measures required by RP to intercede with student conduct by delivering proper disciplinary and rehabilitation measures.

D) RP AND DISCIPLINE: The BCPS Student Handbook wording of the THREE categories of offenses states offenses......“MAY” result in....For Category 3 offenses the wording ought to be changed to “SHOULD”. Neither learning nor instruction can take place when there are dangerous and disorderly classrooms or schools. I believe proper discipline helps create order and that allows BETTER teaching and learning to occur. The current Superintendent in the BCPS Student handbook states: “Our commitment to you is providing safe and orderly learning environments for each of our 113,000 students through proactive and comprehensive staffing, policy, equipment, technology, and training. We take safety as seriously as you do, and we know that this priority is essential to helping every student grow and thrive. We all have a role to play in keeping our students and schools safe. I look forward to working with you to support a positive and productive learning environment in every classroom around the county.” THIS IS NOT HAPPENING.

2) What areas of improvement do you see as most important for BCPS as a whole?

There are several areas I believe need serious improvement. 2018 PTA ResponsesA) COMMUNICATION: Better communication between BCPS and its stakeholders, ALL the tax payers, and the citizens of Baltimore County is the foremost area that needs to be addressed. This means MORE TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY on the part of the Board of Education, The BCPS Superintendent and our elected officials, especially our district representatives. No more “back room” shenanigans. The recent behavior displayed by the majority of the BofE and the County Executive has been despicable. We should not be pitting communities against each other for equitable services.

B) SAFETY AND EQUITY: Many of our schools are NOT safe. Some of our schools are in disrepair and are not equipped with modern security methods such as auto-locking doors, lack operable security cameras, and class room panic alarms. A recent survey showed that over 50% of teachers, students and parents do NOT think our schools are safe. The most recent teacher’s car-jacking incidents in Baltimore County illustrate how dangerous our school campuses have become. We need to be more Pro-active rather than Reactive in addressing crime on school properties. Besides the physical safety deficiencies in many schools, BCPS does not have a TRANSPARENT AND EQUITABLE long range plan for school improvements, renovations or new school construction to address these pressing needs. Make ALL our schools SAFER. Too many schools are soft targets and they shouldn’t be.

C) TESTING: I believe the MSDE is going to eliminate the PARCC exams soon, but the damage has already been done. BCPS needs to find a better and more precise longitudinal measuring device to determine our student’s reading and math abilities as they progress through BCPS. NAEP is one of alternative tests I am researching as well as others to replace the PARCC testing. Very few States are now using PARCC and as I stated earlier, MSDE is proposing to change the State’s testing program (AGAIN). Our standards have been lowered by teaching to this test and the results for properly preparing our graduates for Career and College preparedness has become abysmal.Two thirds of Maryland public high school graduates are not prepared to start entry courses at our community colleges and universities because of reading and mathematics deficiencies.

D) GRADING: The current grading policies for BCPS is not being consistently applied across the board. Some schools mandate the Lowest Score) LS policy (50 point grading scale). According to some teachers, some schools are not adhering to the policy. Also in the BCPS Grading and Reporting Procedures Manual: A practice “NOT RECOMMENDED” is “grading formative class work, practice and homework.” How can a teacher evaluate a proper grade for a student if formative assessments and homework is not graded? The manual is 53 pages long and is suppose to be the “new” rules for determining grades. This is an absurd ADDITIONAL burden being placed upon our teachers.

E) DISCIPLINE: BCPS Discipline policies need to be seriously reviewed. “The lack of a fair and consistent discipline policy is the root of all the transgressions in our schools.

F) ATTENDANCE: Bring back the attendance policies which were part of the grading process. There has to be a point where attendance can be a “factor” in determining a student’s grade. It allows for INSURANCE for teachers when they fail students for a student’s failure to demonstrate mastery and evidence of learning.

3) How will you stay in communication with stakeholders, including local school PTA’s?

A) If elected, I plan on having an open communication channel to every stakeholder. I am a member of many Face book Advocacy groups. I answer my emails. I answer my phone calls. I have ALL my positions posted on my candidate’s page. My Election Cards have my address, email address and phone number. I have nothing to hide. I am RETIRED and have the time and resources necessary to provide the best communications to everyone. I’ve attended PTA meetings and the last two SWAEAC meetings. I am still learning about ES and MS policies from these meetings. It is just as important for parents to express concerns and questions to their BofE representative as it is for the Board member to be aware of the BCPS policies and Rules in order to assist the stakeholders ALL THE TIME. However, many problems and questions should be addressed first at the school level, whenever possible. I’m not on a witch hunt against teachers and school administrators. As a member of the Board I hope to accommodate and advocate for the stakeholders when necessary.

4) How will you work with the county council and county executive to secure adequate funds for our school system?

A) Baltimore County is going to face many fiscal issues in the next decades. County income is projected to slow and many difficult decisions will have to be made. Currently, BCPS spends over 52% of the ENTIRE county’s budget. In less than a decade, the BCPS budget has ballooned from $1 billion to almost $2 billion dollars. What does BCPS have to show for this? Scores (any way you measure them) show that BCPS remains in the middle of the pack when compared to every school system in Maryland. We keep dropping down in the rankings as to when BEFORE we were ranked in the top 3/4 school systems in the State. Our SAT scores are stagnant and in many schools WAY below average. Though we now have 24 State Recognized Blue Ribbon schools and 20 National Blue Ribbon schools, BCPS has way too many schools ranked at the bottom. Our system can be great, but this greatness must be shared and promoted in EVERY school. This will only come about through more equitable distribution of our resources and the amount of those resources may be less in the future. We can’t have everything. But we can ask for what is absolutely necessary from the County and show the County that our tax dollars are not being wasted irresponsibly by the Board and BCPS in general. I feel BCPS has lost some trust with our elected county representative because of the poor implementation of STAT, the cost over runs with STAT, and the no-bid contracts granted by BCPS. We owe it to our legislators to be more transparent and accountable on how BCPS is spending $2 billion dollars a year and keeps asking for more money every year, yet we get no gains in the educational outcomes.

5) How will you ensure equity for school facilities across district one?

A) BCPS needs to develop a long range plan for school capital improvements. We need a 3 Tier plan: ES, MS and HS. Prioritize the 3 categories and then integrate the priorities in a fair and equitable way for every district. Once ground breaking begins on a project it cannot stop. This new approach would allow BCPS to re=evaluate EVERY year the prioritized capital improvements and make adjustments before the ground breaking begins. No MORE falling to the back of the line when a community is adamant for a new school and not a renovation. In District 1, every high school has received at least 1 renovation. Some have had two. Some are facing a third renovation. It’s time that District 1 receive a NEW High school. Yes, we received some new ES and MS but so did every other district. District 1 is the only district that has NEVER received a NEW high school.

6) In what ways will you balance the needs of all schools in the district?

A) District 1 is facing severe over-crowding in its elementary schools (over 800+) primarily in 5 ES. Yet District 1 has several ES that are underutilized. A cross leveling of students (meaning new boundaries) should be examined. This ES over-crowding is already affecting our MS Our high schools are already over or are at full capacity. Some serious work is needed to fairly distribute every student in District 1. None of our schools should be suffering from severe over-crowding when we have schools that are being underutilized. That is what’s fair and that is EQUITY. That’s how you should balance the needs of our students. That’s how you balance the needs of all schools. You don’t pit schools against other schools. The resources are distributed according to each school’s needs and not just some equality formula used by BCPS. Some schools REQUIRE more personnel resources and they are NEEDED now, not later. That’s EQUITY. BCPS’s ESL and Special Education students are projected to continue to grow rapidly in the Southwest and Southeast areas. BCPS has no plan in place to address this increase that I know of. Only formulas.

7) How will you foster and encourage transparency in the school system?

A) Communication. Better communication between BCPS and its stakeholders, ALL the tax payers, and the citizens of Baltimore County is the foremost area that needs to be addressed. This means MORE TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY on the part of the Board of Education, The BCPS Superintendent and our elected officials, especially our district representatives. Everyone in Baltimore County should have a voice and be heard. You foster and encourage transparency when you’re open to other people’s ideas and meetings